First Destiny
by MrFoshizzlePro
Summary: Post-manga. Kenshin decides to take Kenji out to the market, much to the three-year old's own reluctance. However, while in town, the young toddler may discover something that will remain with him forever...


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**First Destiny**

by: MrFoshizzlePro

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is owned proudly by Nobuhiro Watsuki. Nothing is owned by me (minus the fact of being the writer of this fanfiction ^^;).

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><p>The day was bright in sunny, with the illuminating orb of shining light shimmering low in the pale morning sky. The winds of spring whisked through the sakura tree and twirled upward, a trail of petals following up into the sky. A young child of the age of three sat on the porch of the Kamiya dojo, his short auburn hair burning in the morning rays and his big blue eyes gawking curiously in the direction of his Mommy and a teenage boy. As he observed, Kenji Himura had come to the conclusion that the weird spikey-haired boy was trying to pick a fight with his Mommy. However, much to his knowledge, he knew she would end up winning.<p>

"Come now, Kenji. Let's head on to the market, hm? How does that sound?"

"Huh...?"

Kenji blinked in confusion at the sudden sensation of decending from his spot upon the dojo porch. Moments later, his wide eyes fell on the face of his Daddy. Instantly, his face formed into an angry scowl. He yanked as hard as he could on Kenshin's bangs, yelping, "Want down! Want _down!_"

Kenshin winced. "Now, now Kenji," he chuckled awkwardly while trying to untangle the locks of hair from his son's grasp with much difficulty. "Right now, Daddy has some shopping to do for Mommy, so I need you to come with me since Mommy is busy with Uncle Yahiko. Okay?"

The child pouted as the remaining strains of hair were finally released from his hold. Smiling cheerfully, Kenshin carried Kenji away and out the dojo gates. And all the while, the boy remained silent and annoyed.

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><p>"I'll take some fresh youkan please, if you will."<p>

"Here you are...come again!"

Glowering, Kenji glared up at Daddy as his father flashed him a smile. Kenshin's smile seemed to gloom just the tiniest bit, but the sooner it had shown, it was gone as he shook himself and said, "Well then, Kenji. Wouldn't you say it is time to go home?"

Kenji warily nodded in response. All he wanted was for the shopping trip to be over so he could see Mommy again. _I don't want to be with stupid-head! _he thought. _I want Mommy! _That was the only thought that occupied his mind: the urge to see Mommy.

Kenshin took notice in his son's sour behavior, but brushed it aside.

_Kenji is merely going through the same faze as any three-year old's, that he is. Soon enough, he'll warm up to me. _However, as much he hated to admit it to himself, Kenshin was merely hanging by a shred of hope.

As both father and son strolled down the busy town street, a wooden cart rolled on by that caught the young boy's attention. Easily, Kenji pulled his hand free from his father's hold and stopped in mid-track to stare after the cart and the objects it carried on it. A heartbeat later, Kenshin stopped as well, realizing his son had slipped out of his grasp and was standing in the middle of the street.

"Kenji," he called, walking toward him much to his own burden. The child remained still, fixated on riveting his eyes to the cart. Only a tap on the shoulder averted Kenji's attention away and instead to Daddy. His violet eyes shone with question and Kenji had no idea how to respond. He simply returned his curious blues back toward the direction the cart had wheeled off into.

Puzzled, Kenshin followed his son's gaze. He smiled softly. Then, he ruffled Kenji's auburn hair and chuckled good-naturedly. "Oh, I see," murmured Kenshin, causing the boy to glance up. Kenshin knelt down to his son's level with a knowing look glinting in the corner of his eye. Kenji cocked his head to the side.

Daddy closed his eyes and grinned. "You must want to look at what was on that cart, aren't you?"

He was astonished by his father's knowledge. Surprised, all the child could do was nod. Kenshin climbed back to a standing position, taking hold of Kenji's small little hand and leading him alongside himself. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to look for a bit," Kenshin mused. "Besides..." And he beamed down at Kenji before going on. "...I believe Mommy wouldn't mind if I stole her little boy for a while, that I do."

Kenji felt a strange feeling bubbling in his belly as he offered a small smile to his father. What was he feeling? The lingering question made him think a little. _Daddy is weird, _he thought. _Mommy is better._

"Excuse me, Miss?"

A young woman, about in her twenties, stopped wheeling her cart and casted Kenshin a sidelong glance over her shoulder. She smiled a friendly smile and replied, "Yes, Sir? Is there something I can do for you?"

Kenshin smirked. "You wouldn't mind us browsing through the things you're carrying on your cart, would you? My son, Kenji, wants to look. But only if it is alright with you Miss-"

"Not to worry. It's fine with me!" She swerved around and pushed the cart a little ways forward to make it more accessable. She giggled, flashing a happy smile. "I just love children! Go ahead and look as much as you'd like. Let me know if you find something of your interest and I'll help to ring it up for you, okay?"

Kenji watched Daddy dip his head solemnly to the strange woman and add, "Thank you very much for your kindness."

She responded with a bright, "No problem. It's my pleasure!"

Suddenly, Kenji was lifted from the ground and to the cart. Kenshin held him securely with both hands, smiling warmly at his son's amazement. The one thing that captivated his attention the most was an unusual thick stick laying overtop a small wooden box. He stretched his little arm out as much as he could and curled his fingers around the thinnest part of the perplexing stick.

His eyes quavered and his mouth opened slightly in awe. Kenji thought, _It looks really weird... _He picked it up carefully and examined it in his hand. It felt heavier than most sticks he had ever picked up before and it was bounded by thinner strips of some type of pale brown plant he had never seen before. _And it feels really weird, too...!_

"That's a bamboo sword, Kenji."

His blue eyes flashed up to Daddy. Kenshin explained, "It's called a _shinai. _You use it when practicing sword arts such as what Mommy teaches: a sword art known as _kendo._"

That made Kenji beam brighter than the sun. "I want it!" he chirped, his grip tightening on the _shinai _excitedly. Kenshin looked delighted by his son's enthusiasm. He turned to the woman, asking, "Excuse me? If I may, sessha would like to purchase a _shinai_."

She clapped her hands together. "Wonderful!" she exclaimed. "I'll figure out the price and you'll be all set!"

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><p>Resting against the bare trunk of the <em>sakura <em>tree, peering down at the child-sized _shinai _lying in front of himself upon the ground, Kenji had been transfixed in wonderment with the object since his and Daddy's arrival home. He was curious as to how Mommy wielded such a thing as Daddy had mentioned earlier. He smiled at the thought and rose up.

Kaoru and Kenshin emerged from the dojo, glancing toward their son. He scurried over as fast as his little legs could carry him toward Mommy. Kaoru laughed kind-heartedly, opening her arms to him as he threw himself into her welcoming embrace in a fit of giggles. Kenshin found himself laughing as well.

"Wanna do ken-doh!" declared Kenji, gleaming. "Ken-doh! Just like Mommy! Ken-doh!"

Both parents exchanged baffled glimpses amongst each other, eyebrows raised and eyes wide. "_Kendo_...?" Kaoru glared at her husband with suspicion. "Kenshin, _what _exactly did you tell our son?"

All Kenshin could do was shrug and sweatdrop. He laughed nervously and stammered, "W-well I didn't tell Kenji anything he wasn't old enough to know about...I only told him that 'Mommy practices a sword art known as _kendo'_. Sessha honestly did not know he would take it to heart, that I most certainly did not-"

"Ken-doh! Ken-doh!" Kenji continually blurted. Kaoru yanked Kenshin by the ear, and with a disatisfied grimace, dragged her husband inside, ignoring his yelps of pain and pleads.

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><p><em>Owari<em>

_Author's Note:__ This little story just randomly happened upon me in my mind today as I was reading a little bit more of the Rurouni Kenshin manga (I'm finally almost to Chapter 200! Only three more chapters left to go!) so I thought, 'I might as well write this down. This could turn out to be a cute little story ^-^' Sadly, it turned out to be a longer story than I intended ._. _

_Nevertheless, I hope you all enjoyed this fanfiction as much as I did writing it ^-^ I always enjoy writing stories that contemplate the relationship between Kenji and his father. It never fails to lighten my mood. Feel free to review with your thoughts and critisms :) I would greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts, I would._

_Until next time, _

_Ja ne!_

_-MrFoshizzlePro ^-^_


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